"SOER"

A native of Kyiv, Dmytro loved football and respected history and freedom. He met the full-scale war while still underage. In January 2023, SOER joined the military. After completing basic combat training, he was assigned to the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the Azov Separate Special Purpose Regiment, later reorganized as the 12th Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. In the summer of 2023, he took part in battles near Mala Tokmachka and Orikhiv. From August 2023 until the autumn of 2024, he participated in assault operations in the Serebrianskyi Forest. In the autumn of 2024, he took part in the battles for the town of New York. In the winter of 2024, SOER joined a sniper company, with which he fought for Toretsk, Shcherbynivka, Oleksandro-Kalynove, and many other settlements where special groups of the unit carried out combat missions. In August 2023, he sustained severe gunshot and shrapnel wounds. Despite these injuries, he returned to the ranks with strong motivation and fighting spirit. In the winter of 2024, he was wounded again by shrapnel in the jaw. After recovering, he once more returned to the ranks, driven by the desire to fight for his land and his beliefs. He repeatedly risked his life for his brothers-in-arms and was always ready to go all the way. In battle he controlled his fear and kept a cool head. To other servicemen, SOER was a professional in his field, a warrior who had passed through a difficult path of exhausting infantry battles. To his closest brothers-in-arms, SOER was a tough young fighter, the life of the company, and someone with whom they were not afraid to go to the most dangerous place. To older soldiers, he represented hope for a better future for Ukraine—a young generation with a properly set moral compass. Dmytro loved sports, books, and travel. He dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. At a very young age, he already understood honor, dignity, and duty. His grandfather fought in the Second World War, and his father fought in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Like his ancestors, SOER had not planned to connect his future with war, but when the time came, without hesitation he proved his loyalty to the Ukrainian flag and his convictions not with words, but with action. He was killed on 6 December 2025 near the village of Shakhove, Pokrovsk district, at the age of 22. “SOER” — “On the Shield.” You will always be in our hearts, brother. We will always remember your temperament and unconventional way of thinking, like the Sawyer from the book you were named after.